“The man behind the mask is looking for the book with the pages torn out. He is going towards the hiding place”

Only two years after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Wild at Heart, David Lynch decided to revisit the town of his much loved TV series Twin Peaks and explore more of that mystery. Only this time at Cannes his film was booed and jeered out the door. Critics hated it. However, if you’re a fan of the TV series then this prequel is pretty much essential viewing.

Twin Peaks’ homecoming queen, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is a struggling teenager who, by day, is a sought after and cherished member of her small town community. But she leads a double life and, by night, she has an obvious sexual promiscuity and spiralling cocaine habit which explain the circumstances leading to her demise – ending where the television series began.

From the opening shot of Fire Walk With Me, Lynch makes a bold statement on what to expect from the film. He depicts a television with no reception before quickly smashing it with an axe. It doesn’t take much to understand the symbolism. This film is not in the same style or the quirky, off-beat approach that the TV series had. This is a much more violent and sinister revisit to Twin Peaks.

Maybe this is the reason why critics gave it a mauling. Although most of the criticisms seem to stem from it being indecipherable. As is often the case with Lynch, though, answers don’t come easy and if you haven’t seen the television show then this film will, admittedly, make no sense whatsoever. As an avid fan of the show, I personally think this is a superb companion piece and one of Lynch’s most criminally underrated films.

As much as its tone is darker, it still flirts with the Twin Peaks vibe. The majority of the characters from the series reappear and Lynch also introduces some new one’s that fit into the story perfectly; Agent Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) and his forensic partner Sam Stanley (Kiefer Sutherland) dominate the opening of the film as they investigate the murder of Teresa Banks in the town of Deer Meadow and how her death could have implications on future murders. Their segment of the story contains some classic Lynchian moments – as well as Lynch himself making another welcome appearance as the hard-of-hearing FBI Chief Gordon Cole.

From there, we move forward a year and back to Twin Peaks, for the last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life. It’s here that Sheryl Lee takes centre stage. She had little to do in the series but here Lynch makes her the focus of the film and Lee embraces the chance. Her performance is absolutely superb. She conveys a wide range of emotions and fully captures the despair of Laura. Her struggle is a harrowing and heartbreaking experience and feels, very much, like a tangible tragedy.

Along the way, we also get a glimpse of some familiar characters and places; Kyle MacLachlan’s Special Agent Dale Cooper makes a brief appearance as does The Man From Another Place and, of course, Killer Bob. We visit The Black Lodge and The Red Room and a genuinely unsettling scene involving the appearance (and disappearance) of David Bowie’s Agent Philip Jeffries.

Surreal paintings, a dancing lady with a blue rose, backwards taking dwarves, log ladies and oscillating uvulas. This is quintessential Lynch and his vision of Twin Peaks and the duality of Laura Palmer’s life is an altogether nightmarish one. His usual exploration of the depths of the human psyche is, once again, the major theme as he explores the psychological torture of individuals struggling with good and evil, loneliness and abandonment and the downward spiral of Laura, in particular, weighs devastatingly heavy.

It can often be overlooked how much of horror this film is. It’s not one in your conventional sense, though. It deals more with the evil within an everyday person and has dark forces at work but it doesn’t have the archetypal spectre dressed up for a particular day of the festive year. They don’t wield weapons or are seemingly indestructible. The evil at work here is what lingers under the facade of people and it’s this psychological depth that makes Lynch’s film a masterclass in absolute terror.

If your a fan of the series then this should appeal very highly. Otherwise, it’s probably a Lynch film that you’ll want to avoid. Either way, the critics got this wrong. Only those with a lack of familiarity or love for the cult show should find fault here.

Mark Walker

Trivia: The zigzag pattern on the floor of the Black Lodge is similar to the pattern on the floor of the lobby of Henry’s house in Lynch’s Eraserhead. The Black Lodge version of the pattern is much larger, though.

21 Responses to “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”

Excellent review Mark, and as I said before, I think this movie is an underrated masterpiece. It’s so tonally different than its TV basis, but I feel this is one of Lynch’s most intimate works. And that final scene is just truly powerful and haunting.

Thanks Charles. We definitely seem to see this the same way. It is a very intimate film and that’s also what’s makes it so heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. Sheryl Lee really goes for it here and it’s a stunning performance that brings a lot more understanding to Laura Palmer. I didn’t mind the shift in tone at all. In fact, I found it necessary.

Ah…I can see you’ve been on a bit of a Lynch kick! I agree with you that this one is underrated, and that the horror is stronger than you might expect (there’s certainly a darker tone than the series, despite some unsettling moments on the small screen). There’s a really piercing drive-by scream about 2/3 of the way through -that really freaked me out. Glad Lynch and Bowie worked together…that’s pretty cool, even if it was brief.

I have indeed been on a Lynch kick, man. My head has actually been fried. After the weekend, I’ll finish with my last post on his films (for now).

Yeah, I’m huge admirer of this film. I reckon the critics were far too harsh on it. It’s a solid addiction to the Twin Peaks world. As it goes, I just watched “The Missing Pieces” from this film last night. There’s some good extended and deleted scenes and in particular it sheds more light on Bowie’s character. I can see why they cut it out but Bowie would’ve had a bit more to do. It’s an interesting watch.

Couldn’t agree more, Mark. Disturbing and moving is spot on. It’s a wonder that Lynch even managed to capture both. I can absolutely confirm that it’s worth the rewatch. Still as good as it remember it from many years ago. Cheers mate.

I’m late to this review, but I am so glad to hear from someone who has loved this movie, Mark. I loved Twin Peaks, I’ve owned the movie for a few months, yet I just haven’t gotten around to watching it yet. I think this review is gonna motivate me to watch it this coming week, so thank you!

If you like the tv show of Twin Peaks then there’s plenty to recommend this film. I love it, man. But then I am a huge admirer of David Lynch’s stuff anyway. He has his critics and this has been one of his most criticised films but it think they’ve been unfair and, frankly, wrong.

I just found your blog and I absolutely love it. I had to click on this because Twin Peaks is my absolute favourite show, and I cannot wait for the reboot. Fire Walk With Me is definitely essential for us Twin Peaks fans. Surreal as you said, and an underrated psychological horror movie. Awesome review!

Thank you, kindly! I’m happy you’ve stumbled on my humble blog. It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow Twin Peaksers! I really can’t wait for the new series either. From what I’ve heard, apparently Fire Walk With Me is very closely related to it. Lynch has urged fans to rewatch this film before tackling the new episodes. Sounds great and this film is vastly underrated.

You’re really onto something when you say it’s almost a horror movie. It’s about the last few days of a girls life, so I guess it makes a lot of sense that it would be as terrifying as it ends up being. That said, I do love the quirky, funny, weird Twin Peaks that was often shown in the TV Show, and I’m worried the new series, if it’s more like the film, is going to be unrelentingly disturbing. But yeah, the point is, this is a really great review that made me think, I’m super happy I read it!

It is horrific, though, isn’t it Danny? It’s a very unsettling experience and vastly different from the quirky vibe of the TV show. That said, I loved it. The critics were far too harsh on this and Lynch has hinted that the new series will have a lot to do with the events of this film. If so, we’re in for a bumpy ride. I can’t wait, though. Really looking forward to it.